Lucky Boy Hardcover – January 10, 2017

It is no surprise that yet another work of outstanding fiction has a story line that is beyond relevant to the world in which we are living. Shanthi Sekaran’s LUCKY BOY is about the hope of immigrating to America, a greater land where opportunity is endless, of the realities of being an undocumented immigrant; dreams of becoming parents and the frustration when it is challenging; family roots that matter most and what happens when they become undone; opening your heart to transracial adoption and the potential to break that heart; and ultimately the beauty of the various bonds of love between couples, parent and child and how those ties can be put to test over and over.In LUCKY BOY, we meet the strong and brave Soli, a young woman in a small town in Mexico, so small that it isn’t even on a map. She is determined to make it across the border to a land of possibilities. In Berkeley, Kavya’s life appears idyllic. Married to her college sweetheart, a culinary job that she enjoys, and a homeowner. But the heat is on. Her proud Indian parents have not let up about giving them a grandchild and Kavya and Rishi cannot get pregnant.Enter one baby boy. He is unexpected, yet deeply loved. His circumstances suddenly become unstable.This is an impossible situation. I am sure that no two readers will have the same perspective. This will draw many mixed emotions.  The characters endure so much suffering. Yet they have so much love.

One lucky boy loved by two families...his biological mother, who after a traumatic incident ends up in detention for false identification and faces deportation to Mexico, and his foster mother and father. This story dealt with several timely issues...immigration, undocumented workers and infertility...not to mention a mother's love for their child.I felt so many emotions while reading this that I'm not sure how I felt about the ending, but one passage from the book sums it up for me. "If this is a story, it's one with no right ending. If this is a dream, it is a dream made solid, a dream grown to a little boy with a waist and shoulders, calves that wrap around his mother's hips."

Timely issue, but unfortunately this book suffers from too much "writing" and not enough emotional connection with Kavya and Rishi, two of the main characters. For me they seemed distant and self-absorbed, so I couldn't feel to much sympathy for them.

Our book club read the book and found it both painful and intriguing to read. The boy was, indeed, lucky to have two women who truly loved him and wanted the best for him. The differing cultures of the mothers was a fascinating contrast and produced some interesting discussions in our group. The experiences of the birth mother in getting to the US was difficult to read and a reminder of some current situations at our border with Mexico.I personally was not happy with the ending because I see the mother continuing to repeat her mistakes and feel the boy will suffer, as a result. The rest of the group had mixed emotions on this.

A beautiful story told through beautiful writing. Compared to this novel, most others I have read over a lifetime cannot compare. Each time I believed this story would take an expected path, the author surprises with a creative direction. The characters learn life lessons without moral issues being forced on the reader. Family dynamics are explored, love between a couple, a mother and child, a child and a couple who are not its biological parents, between friends and even co-workers move this story to a stunning conclusion.

Beautifully written novel which could be a true story. As a Court Appointed Special Advocate who recommends to the court the best home for a juvenile, this book brings the attention to the fact that many times an illegal immigrant has no control over the fate of their child through no fault of their own. Which is better for a child - to be raised in a home where a mother can barely provide for her child or in a two parent, loving, financially solvent environment, that offers every opportunity to a child?

Almost from the beginning, I found this book hard to put down. There are two alternate story lines between an infertile Indian couple and an illegal young Mexican immigrant who has a baby shortly after making it to the US. The parts about Soli, the Mexican young woman, were very moving and she seemed like a real person. The story then has their lives connect and you aren't really sure how the novel should end. The characters and situation of these two families, stays with you long after you've finished the novel.

The stilted and showy language of this novel was wince inducing, specially in the plot of Solimar. I slogged through it but would not recommend it.

This is a very moving and at times painfully graphic book. The truly desperate journey that so many poor and hopeless young Mexicans make to El Norte is described in searing detail. The precarious existence of the undocumented immigrants, the fear of the knock at the door, the ghastly conditions of incarceration....all this is recounted in unequivocal terms. As are the battles over one small boy. I thoroughly recommend this book, particularly now, in 2019, it should be required reading.

I don't know if Ignacio could really be called a lucky boy at the end of this beautifully written and moving story. There were no real winners but my hopes for the two mothers who so desperately wanted him and loved him and Rishi too who was so living sees-sawed throughout this book. I don't know anything about the American legal system or the date of illegal immigrants from across the border to America from Mexico but show they are treated as depicted in this book, is harsh and cruel and I am not clear about the rights of a birth mother who brings a child to life on American soil or the child and mother's rights to stay in the States - but I do know that the writing is very good, pulls in my heartstrings and moved me. I grew to care for Solimar from Santa Clara Popocalco helpless in a place with no work and no prospects and seeking a better life. I also grew to admire Kavya and Rishi who wanted a child of their own to love and nurture. A little over long in the telling, a great, well drawn cast of characters, - l loved Uma and Pretti Patel - all eminently human.. The dialogue was wonderful. Overall, a really lovely, well written and moving book. Witty, cruel kind and well done.... All of humanity there. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

I loved the way the characters alternated stories between the chapters , at first seemingly separate but eventually crossing and merging. I am not sure what the correct answer is to the problem... who should keep the boy ..I could feel for both sides equally.

Accidentally discovered by a friend and recommended, loved the narration. Gives a gripping view about theIives of immigrants in the US

Enjoyed it. Very timely with current issues in the US